Grandpa Gohan
This article is about the original character. For the character portrayed in live-action by Randall Duk Kim, see Grandpa Gohan (Randall Duk Kim). |Race=Human |Gender=Male |Date of birth=Age 658 |Date of death=Between Age 738 - Age 749 |Height=5'2" |Weight=112 lbs. |Address=439 East District/Mount Five Element |Occupation=Martial artist |Allegiance=Turtle School |FamConnect= Master Roshi (mentor) Ox-King (fellow student) Goku (adoptive grandson) Chi-Chi (adoptive granddaughter-in-law) Gohan (adoptive great-grandson) Goten (adoptive great-grandson) Videl (adoptive great-granddaughter-in-law) Pan (adoptive great-great granddaughter) Goku Jr. (adoptive great-great-great-great-grandson) Fortuneteller Baba (boss) Annin (boss) }} Grandpa Gohan (孫悟飯, Son Gohan), also referred to as just Gohan, is the adoptive Human grandfather of Goku. He is often referred to as "Grandpa" Gohan to separate him from Goku's son Gohan, named in honor of him. Appearance and Personality Grandpa Gohan is a short, stubby old man with small dark eyes and a bushy white mustache. He wears a Chinese martial arts uniform, which consists of a sleeveless orange jacket over a long sleeved black shirt, and wears a hat. Grandpa Gohan is a kind and loving man, kind enough to adopt Goku when he found him in the woods. It is likely much of Goku's personality and morality came from him. According to Goku, Grandpa Gohan had good manners and acted very well towards ladies. Grandpa Gohan may have been popular with the ladies, or perverted just like Master Roshi, because he says "I've got a lot of friends, but most of them are brunettes" in the Fortuneteller Baba Saga. Biography Pre-''Dragon Ball'' Gohan was a martial artist who trained under Master Roshi with the Ox-King when he was younger. He was close friends with the Ox-King. According to Master Roshi, Gohan and Ox-King both delivered milk, just like Goku and Krillin did later as part of their training under Roshi. When Gohan was an old man he lived by himself on Mount Paozu (in Dragon Ball Z, his old house is still next to Goku's house). He became the adoptive grandfather of Goku when he found him near the landing site of his space pod when he was a baby. When Goku first landed on Earth, his mission was to, in time, destroy the entire human race and sell the planet to another race. Being a Saiyan, who are known to be very aggressive and short-tempered, Goku was very uncooperative at first (in the TV special Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku, he simply laughs as Grandpa Gohan found him in the wilderness). After falling into a ravine, Goku hit his head, causing him to lose his memory, and became a regular happy, loving boy. Grandpa Gohan passed on his martial arts knowledge to Goku. He also warned Goku to never look at a full moon and to stay indoors on nights of one; implying that Goku had already transformed into a Great Ape before, and Grandpa Gohan managed to survive the first time. Goku followed his advice for sometime until one night (as Goku explained to Bulma, Yamcha, Puar and Oolong what happens when he looks at a full moon while they were held in prison at Pilaf's Castle) when Goku stepped outside to relieve himself. He then glanced at the full moon, transforming into a Great Ape, and went on a rampage, killing Grandpa Gohan, though because Goku did not remember what he did when transformed he was not aware of it. From that time on, Goku believed that Grandpa Gohan was killed by a monster and that his soul was in the Four-Star Dragon Ball. In Dragon Ball Z, when Goku was battling Vegeta as he transforms into a Great Ape, Goku finally realizes that he killed Grandpa Gohan when he was little, and apologizes to his grandfather. Fortuneteller Baba Saga During the Fortuneteller Baba Saga, Goku, Yamcha, Master Roshi, Upa, Puar, and Krillin must fight Fortuneteller Baba's five fighters in order to find the last Dragon Ball. Goku is the last one left to fight and Fortuneteller Baba brings out a "special" fighter as her last. The last opponent is a mysterious man wearing a fox mask. Master Roshi then realizes that that man is Goku's dead grandfather, Grandpa Gohan. Grandpa Gohan and Goku fight about evenly, until Gohan grabs Goku's tail (knowing his weakness as he trained and raised him) and beats him on the ground, back and forth, with Goku helpless. The others are baffled as to why he is just pounding and pounding on Goku. After unintentionally ripping Goku's tail off, causing Goku to go in a rage, Grandpa Gohan surrenders and explains that he was trying to make a point to Goku that he needs to train harder and make his tail work for him instead of against him, and through these words, Goku realizes his identity. Seeing no reason to continue concealing his identity, Gohan unmasks himself, leading to an emotional reunion. Gohan and Baba go on to explain that Baba has the power to bring the dead back to life for one day only. Bulma then explains the Dragon Balls and her adventures with Goku to Gohan. Gohan is quite content with "life" in the Other World, and thus chooses to remain dead, vanishing after thanking Roshi for teaching Goku and giving his grandson a final farewell. It appears that Grandpa Gohan possesses some of Master Roshi's perverted traits, as he states "I've got a lot of friends, and most of them are brunettes." Goku's and Chi-Chi's Wedding Grandpa Gohan makes another appearance in anime filler; in the final two episodes of Dragon Ball in which Goku and Chi-Chi have been in the middle of a quest to lower a new fire engulfing Fire Mountain with Ox-King trapped inside protecting Chi-Chi's wedding dress. Goku and Chi-Chi come upon the gateway between the living world and the next, making their way past numerous illusions, they find themselves in the cave of the Spirit Furnace. They end up meeting up with Grandpa Gohan, whom Goku mistakes for being the legendary furnace keeper Annin. Grandpa Gohan is actually a bodyguard for Annin, as well as protecting the lever that can turn off the Spirit Furnace. After a small scuffle with Annin, Goku is allowed to travel into the depths of the furnace where he is able to patch the leak. Goku bids a final farewell to his grandfather as he and Chi-Chi move on into the beginning of wedded bliss for many years. Other appearances ''Dragon Ball Z'' While seen only through flashbacks, Grandpa Gohan appears quite a few times throughout the Dragon Ball Z series. Out of three known flashbacks, the first is when Master Roshi tells Goku of Grandpa Gohan's story of finding him. Through this flashback, it's insinuated that Goku's first "off-screen" Great Ape transformation occurred after his arrival upon Earth and following a first glimpse Grandpa Gohan had of him (explaining why in Bardock - The Father of Goku, Grandpa Gohan picks up Goku to take home among leveled trees in daylight, in contrast to first seeing him in his infant ship at night, and also why he clearly knew of the transformation in the Dragon Ball series). Later, another flashback takes place where Goku recalls a pre-Dragon Ball moment of his grandfather warning him to never go outside on the night of a full moon after he sees Vegeta transform into a Great Ape. When Goku sees this, he came to realize that when he transformed, he was the one that killed Gohan. He apologized and promised to him that he would defeat Vegeta. The final flashback of him comes much later in the series wherein Goku fondly remembers being found by Grandpa Gohan (a sequence originally shown in the Bardock special, upgraded in animation in a sepia color-tone) followed by a short sequence of Grandpa Gohan's training that raised Goku into a boy "trained like steel". ''Dragon Ball GT'' Grandpa Gohan makes one small appearance during a flashback that Goku has at the end of the Dragon Ball GT series. Grandpa Gohan is seen holding Goku up in the air during Goku's final walk outside the World Martial Arts Tournament arena. Live-action films ''Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins'' In the unofficial live action movie Dragon Ball: The Magic Begins, Grandpa Gohan (known as "Sparkle" in the movie) is alive and trains with Goku, then is captured by villains searching for his Dragon Ball. ''Dragonball Evolution'' Grandpa Gohan in the live-action film Dragonball Evolution (released Friday, April 10, 2009) is played by Randall Duk Kim. In the movie, he is killed by Lord Piccolo in his search for the Four-Star Dragon Ball, rather than Goku. In the movie, Gohan gives Goku this Dragon Ball as a gift for his 18th birthday. The plot line obviously varies from the original series. Techniques *'Kamehameha' – A whitish-blue energy wave shot from both hands, invented by Master Roshi himself. *'Jan Ken' – The martial arts technique invented by Grandpa Gohan and translating rock-scissors-paper. *'Turtle School Tranquility' – Grandpa Gohan's Ultimate Blast in Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and 3''. Grandpa Gohan kicks his opponent into the air and flies toward the enemy and kicks them down. While the opponent is falling, Grandpa Gohan performs the Jan Ken technique on them. *'Turtle School Four Virtues' – A rush attack used by Grandpa Gohan. First, Grandpa Gohan says "Got you now!" as he kicks the opponent into the air. Then, he jumps behind the opponent and dashes to punch their feet making them fall. Finally, he hook kicks them away. *'Thunder Shock Surprise' – One of the most powerful attacks invented by Master Roshi. Grandpa Gohan uses it in ''Dragon Ball: Origins. *'Explosive Wave' – He creates a weak burst of energy for protection, with himself serving as the nexus. If anyone comes in contact with the wave, they will be knocked away, and receive minor damage. Used in Dragon Ball: Origins. *'Afterimage Technique' – Grandpa Gohan moves so quickly that he leaves an image of himself behind. Most often, it is used to dodge an incoming attack and get behind the opponent to perform a counter-attack. Grandpa Gohan uses the Afterimage Technique in Dragon Ball: Origins. In the ''Budokai Tenkaichi'' series, he instead uses the Afterimage Strike. *'Sleep' – One of Grandpa Gohan's Blast 1 in the Budokai Tenkaichi series. Video game appearances Grandpa Gohan appears in Dragon Ball: Daimaō Fukkatsu, Dragon Ball 3: Gokuden and its WonderSwan remake. He is referred to as the Mysterious Masked Man (謎の仮面男) during the boss fight against him in Dragon Ball Z: Super Gokuden: Totsugeki-Hen. In the RPG Dragon Ball Z: Kyōshū! Saiyan, Goku meets Grandpa Gohan while in his journey to King Kai's planet. Grandpa Gohan is a boss in the Game Boy Advance game, Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure and, afterwards, he is unlocked as a playable character in Free Battle mode. After finding him in Extra Mode, he becomes a playable character in all available modes. Grandpa Gohan also appears as a boss and a playable character in the Wii game, Dragon Ball: Revenge of King Piccolo. He is the final optional boss in Dragon Ball: Origins (level 1-7), and a boss in Dragon Ball: Origins 2. Grandpa Gohan is a playable character in both Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 2 and Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3. During his appearances in these games, Gohan wears the fox mask which he once donned in Dragon Ball (though it is knocked off when he is damaged enough). He also appears in the computer game Dragon Ball Online, in the first story quest. Grandpa Gohan appears in a cutscene in Dragon Ball Z: Idainaru Son Goku Densetsu, in the opening cinematic of Dragon Ball Z: Sagas, and makes a brief appearance in the story of Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Tenkaichi. While he himself did not appear in the game, Grandpa Gohan's House was an arena in Dragon Ball Z: Budokai 3, as well as in Dragon Ball Z: Infinite World. Voice Actors *Japanese Dub: Osamu Saka (Most media), Jinpei Azusa (Bardock - The Father of Goku) and Shigeru Chiba (Dragon Ball Kai) *English Ocean Group dub: Michael Donovan *English FUNimation Dub: Christopher Sabat *Spanish dub (Latin America): Jorge Roig (Dragon Ball and Dragon Ball Z) and Armando Réndiz (Dragon Ball Z Kai) *Portuguese dub (Brazil): Eleu Salvador and Gileno Santoro Trivia *Grandpa Gohan's voice is heard in the Ocean Group Dub of "The Secret of the Dragon Balls" saying his last words and is the only time he is heard due to that dub being canceled long before the episode he debuts in. *Grandpa Gohan apparently had an appetite similar to Goku's. In "Dress in Flames", Ox-King comments Goku shares his grandfather's fierce appetite, though since it would later be revealed Goku was a Saiyan. *The mask Grandpa Gohan wears was originally seen worn by Nejishiki in Dr. Slump. *Goku has grown up thinking that Gohan's spirit rests within the Four-Star Dragon ball. He thinks this because it was his most prized possession before he died. *Goku's son Gohan is named after his Grandpa Gohan only because the baby went without a name for a while, until the name "Gohan" came into conversation, and the baby laughed because he liked the name, so then Chi-Chi, Goku, and Ox-King decided to name him that. *In the Ocean dub of Dragon Ball Z, a mistranslation leads Goku to apparently realize that Vegeta killed Grandpa Gohan. This is most likely because Goku realizes Grandpa Gohan was killed by a Great Ape, but the Dragon Ball anime had not yet been dubbed into English, which led the Ocean Group to the incorrect conclusion that Goku was referring specifically to Vegeta and not the generic Great Ape. This is corrected in the FUNimation re-dub, which was produced after the English dub of Dragon Ball. *In Budokai Tenkaichi 3, when Goku fights Grandpa Gohan as a Super Saiyan (any type), Goku says "Grandpa, look I'm a Super Saiyan." then Grandpa Gohan says "Oh, that's very good." Gallery